'Potentially dangerous activities' cited in Hard Summer shutdown; full refunds offered

 

Before any of the headline acts took the stage, the sold-out Hard Summer dance/electronic event was shut down at the Forum. As Pop & Hiss reported earlier, the event was declared a "hazard" by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, according to an Inglewood police representative, and the sold-out crowd was told to go home.

Promoters confirmed the "hazard" status late Sunday night. In a statement posted on the Hard Summer website and distributed to the media, organizers wrote that the event was destined for shutdown after concertgoers were seen "jumping from the balcony to the floor, along with numerous other potentially dangerous activities."

Hard Events will offer a full refund. The event wasn't cheap. Pre-sale tickets started at $55, and VIP tickets topped off at $145.

"While we, the promoters, worked with the authorities to consider other options to continue the concert, ultimately they made the decision based on the safety of the concertgoers," read the statement from promoter Gary Richards, which added, "We are happy to report that there were no major injuries."

Full details from Hard Events are after the jump.

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Jesse Solorio / Flickr

How to get a refund:

Ticketmaster sales:
Beginning Monday, Aug. 10, at 10 a.m., if you purchased your tickets through Ticketmaster.com or a Ticketmaster phone center, the credit card you used to purchase the tickets will automatically be credited. If you purchased your ticket through a Ticketmaster outlet, you will need to go to the point of purchase to obtain a refund.

Groovetickets sales:
If you purchased your tickets online through Groovetickets.com, a refund for the total face value of your order will be automatically applied to the credit card you used. Allow up to five business days for the credit to appear on your banking statement.

Retail stores / venue box office:
If you purchased your tickets through any of the retail stores or from the venue box office, you may obtain a refund by mailing your ticket(s) to:

The Forum
3900 West Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90305
Attn: Hard Refund Department

Please include the mailing address where you would like the refund check mailed to as well as an e-mail address. Include the payee's full name for check payment or full credit card information. Please allow up to 30 days for your refund to be processed.

Comments

[Earrings for girls]

Yes I've bought a ticket. It is unfortunate that it turned. Now I will wait for the refund.

[Prija Cash]

Hardfest.com ran a commercial. Coining this event to be the "BIGGEST CLUB" club event of the summer. This is false advertisement. The branding of a CLUB event would mean that everyone is going to DANCE their asses off on the dance floor. Hardfest did not advertise it as the biggest concert / biggest event; concerts would give the idea of enjoying a show while sitting down. They advertised it a the Biggest CLUB event. Not a day event / festival to enjoy a show.

Some of these kids saved their money all summer in this type of recession, where they needed an outlet to release from the grind. The frustration to JUMP to the FLOOR, comes from the idea that they wanted to get what they paid for. They paid to go to the Dance Floor, and Hardfest REJECTED over 1000 to the dance floor. The entrance to the dance floor was blocked out at 9pm.

9 reasons why Hardfest was a FAIL visit www.prijacash.com

[Irate Partygoer]

So if I bought my ticket on craigslist how do I get a refund? Will the original buyer get double money now? If so, is this grounds to sue?

[Nika Cavat]

My daughter attended the Hard concert at the Forum last Saturday night and has never been so frightened in her life. The event was clearly over-sold. Concert goers waited hours past when it was to start; many with what they thought were legitimate tickets were turned away and eventually, things got out of control. There was a terrible crush and eventually riot police started clearing the Forum out. It was an extremely ill-organized, potentially lethal situation which could have caused extensive injuries or deaths. While I am grateful that the police handled it well, I remain furious with the event planners for doing such an awful job. They're just lucky they don't have blood on their hands.

[Gayle]

Didn't these people know that the Faithful Central Bible church which owns the Fourm had to get ready for church services the next day? But another question is that the promoter should have known well there is a limit of how many can come inside the venue? Luckily a tragedy was averted by ending the event.

[Prija Caash]

@: Earrings for girls - If you bought a ticket from craigslist.. you can still process the refund for the price which is printed on the ticket.. for refund process visit www.hardfest.com

[Evans]

It was "reported that Crystal Castles’ Alice Glass received a concussion at LA’s Hard Fest 2009. Although the police had canceled the event for a “hazard” status, it was actually one of the rave’s riot cops that gave Alice a kick in the head which is currently keeping her in the hospital." - beatcrave.com/2009-08-10/both-cyrstal-castles-and-no-age-injured-from-weekend-shows/

Is this not a major injury?!? I was at the event and it was total chaos. The promoters, the staff and security had no clue what was going on.

HARD FEST......i say HARD FAIL!!!

[Grateful]

On behalf of all us parents ..Thank you! LA County Fire Dept

[IPD]

I worked that event as one of the 'riot police'. And for those that paid top dollar for what was essentially an overpriced concert, I can understand the frustration of waiting and looking forward to an event that eventually was canceled. But to affix blame to authorities is just being plain naive. The Forum is just not a reasonable venue to hold such an event, as was evidenced by the leaping of party goers from the upper levels. Some kid broke their neck too. What did the fire department or police department have to do with these shenanigans?

As far as the police dressing up in our party gear, it's absolutely a misquote to say that the crowd was 'relatively peaceful'... truly not a blanket statement, when there were unruly types tossing bottles (plastic and glass) at us while we were fairly unprotected in our 'riot gear'...should we have smiled and hoped the rowdier types would be understanding? Or are we paid to tolerate injuries? One officer near me had a bottle smack them directly on their helmet, others had glass bottles shatter on them, with bits of glass causing minor cuts to officers. Who can they blame? Com'on folks! I was surprised to hear on the radio that the watch commander was calling so many resources, but when the event was shut down, I can see they were needed. And, we were pleased that there were not substantial injuries or any uses of force; most of the crowd was cooperative and just angry (understandable).

The next time you chose to attend a venue of this caliber, perhaps a little research would be in order to logically forecast if it is a safe location for the type of venue (i.e. it sounds like the Shrine would have been a better repeat location). That statement is not meant to provoke; but to proffer advice, so you can enjoy your concert next time!

[Dana D.]

I was an attendee at Hard summer and I don't know what a "serious injury" encompasses, but I was one of the concertgoers who jumped from the upper to lower floor. I did this because as prijacash.com said, I had saved money in this recession of ours to go to a DANCE party and dance the night away, NOT to SIT on the upper lever. It was a poorly planned out event, and my decision to try to get my moneys worth by jumping to the lower level has left me in two casts. I broke my right heel bone, and sprained my left foot. So yes, there were injuries. This event had the potential to be a great one, if only it was planned out a bit better and in a different venue where there would be enough room for everyone to fit on the DANCE floor. This night was an epic fail. And my body is literally broken.

[cinthia]

I too was one of the attendees of HARD Summer. I purchased my tickets way in advance to see Crystal Castles perform, who happened to be one of the opening acts. After waiting forever to make it into the venue their set was almost over. We experienced a rush of about 200 people running through Gate A as my friends and I struggled to post ourselves up against a wall to prevent being trampled. After that I split from my friends as I made a desperate attempt to see my favorite band. So I ofcourse made the same decision to jump. Thankfully I didn't break or injure anything but by the time I got through the crowd, to the front, I had missed their whole set. Hardfest was trully a disappointment. Now I have to wait for my refund and prefer to just attend a Crystal Castles show at a smaller venue, preferably with no balconies.

[Al]

Whoever attended the Hard Summer Fest and expected to walk into the Forum and onto the floor of this venue so they can dance the night away is STUPID. If you've been to the Forum you would know that the floor at best can hold 2-3000 people.

Whoever jumped from the balcony to the floor because they thought that they deserved a chance to dance is even more stupid and deserves a night in jail or good ass kickin. Do you know realize you could have really messed yourself up or someone below?? Idiots!

I attended one of Gary Richard's Hard events last Halloween at the Shrine and it's clear he doesn't know how to run an event that expects 5,000 or more attendees. An hour long wait to just get into a venue is a joke and a slap in the face.

I saw Underworld/Groove Armada/Oakenfold back in 07 at the Hollywood Bowl and most people there were having a great time dancing in the aisles, despite the seats being in the way. How much room do you need to dance??? Granted it was mostly people in their late 20's to early 40's who attended the show so maybe that had something to do with the "good buzz" at the show. Not so many knucklehead kids in the crowd.

The only ones who should share the blame for the problems at Hard Summer Fest should be the promoters and the %$&@% kids that did the jumping from the balcony to the floor.